Internal work of tubular wells



M. N. LATTA.

INTERNAL WORK OF IUBULAR WELLS. APPLICATION FILED mm. 1910.

1 ,309,738. Patented July 15, 1919.

FFICE.

MILTON N. LATTA, OF VALENTINE, NEBRASKA.

INTERNAL WORK OF TUBULAR WELLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 15, 1919.

Application filed April 5, 1918. Serial No, 226,898.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON N. LA'r'rA. a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Valentine, in the county of Cherry and State of, Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Internal lVorks of Tubular Wells, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the internal works of tubular wells and it consists in the constructions, combinations, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide an improvement in the internal works of tubular wells, having as one of its important features a pump rod which is almost equal in cross sectional area to the bore of the Well casing, thereby causing a complete and extremely swift displacement of the water and the conveyance of sand particles to the top.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device as described having a pump rod of the character stated, which acts in the manner explained to forcibly expel particles of sand entering the casing through a damaged screen.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pump rod having an improved coupling which provides means for supporting particles of sand as they are worked toward the top.

Other objects and. advantages will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional view of a well casing showing the improved pump rod and plunger in place.

, Fig. '2 is a detail sectional view of the lower end.

Fig. 3 is a detail View illustrating the action of the plunger orifices and Fig. 4 is a detail view of the improved coupling showing the annular sand shelf.

In carrying out my invention Iprovide a pump rod 1 which is made in sections and joined together by an improved coupling consisting of the members 2 and 3. The pump rod 1 is, made of wood and may be made in-any desired cross sectional shape.

In the resent instance the sections of the pump ro are hexagonal in cross section and the ends are rounded where they are driven into the metallic coupling members 2 and The lower portion of each punip rod section adjacent to the upper edge of the companion coupling member 2 is provided with an annular concavity 1 which remains as such even after the wood of the pump rod section has swollen after it has been in the water for a length of time. The adjacent edge 5 of the lower coupling member on each rod section, provides a shelf as it were for the grains of sand that are gradually worked upwardly after each reciprocation of the plunger 6 at the bottom of the pump rod.

Attention is directed more particularly to the construction of the pump rod and the plunger. The pump rod 1 is of such a cross sectional area that it fills the major portion of the area of the bore of the well casing 7. The pump rod thereby performs the important function of displacing most of the water and for this reason is properly called the displacement pump rod. The plunger 6 consists of a hollow body as shown in Fig. 2,into the threaded end of which a spray tube 8 is screwed. The upper end of the tube is screwed into a coupling on the bottom of the pump rod.

Arranged in the spray tube 8 just above the washer 9 which engages the top of the leather 10 is an annular series of orifices 11 which are adapted to cause a water spray toward the sides and upwardly with a tremendous force, so that any grains of sand that may have found their way on top of the plunger are dislodged and carried up with the water. These grains of sand will not of course be carried all the Way out of the casing 7 the first time because very often the well casing is a hundred or more feet deep. The shelves 5 on top of the coupling members 2 provide rests on which the sand grains may fall when the windmill stops and from whence they are lifted by the impulse of the water when the windmill again starts. These shelves provide places for the distribution of the sand so it will not collect in a pile at the bottom.

Located at the bottom of the well easing 7 is a cylinder 12 in which the plunger 6 reciprocates and iii the bottom of which there is the usual valve 13 which has no part in the present invention. It may be explained that the valve 13 has a threaded lug 1a which is adapted to be screwed into the nipple 15 on the lower end ofv the plunger. This threaded connection provides means for introducing and removing the valve from the cylinder. Affixed to the bottom of the casing is the usual well screen 16.

In the correct operation of the pump no sand is supposed to pass through the meshes of the screen. It frequently happens however that from continued use or other causes, a small hole will form in the screen and permit particles of sand to get in. Particles of sand continue to filter in untilon some occasion a larger grain will attempt to enter but will be checked in the opening thus automatically closing it.

With pumping apparatus of the ordinary construction, the grains of sand which enter as just explained, find their way between the cup leathers where they grind and score the leathers until they are unfit for further use. In my invention when grains of sand pass through the plunger 6 by way of the check valve controlled passage 17, they are discharged through the orifices 11 where they may remain only for an instant if at all. On making the down stroke of the pump rod, the water is forced through the orifices 11 with such force that itspurts outwardly toward the wall of the cylinder 12 and upwardly as indicated in Fig. 3, carrying any grain of sand with it.

The rapid flow of the water does not end after the initial spurt through the orifices 11, but continues its rapid flow to the top of the well principally by reason of the relative dimension of'the displacement pump rod 1.

Mention has been made of the destruction of the cup leathers in the plungers in pumps of the ordinary construction through the grains of sand. In such constructions, the sand is not forcibly expelled as is the case in the present instance, because the pump rod is so small, in diameter that it cannot actas a displacement rod to create a swiftly flowing stream of water. The damaged leathers must be replaced and to do this, the pump rod is pulled out often with great difficulty.

In the first place a powerful coupling is required to withstand the catching of the leathers on some rough or protruding part at the joints of the well casing. Ordinarily the pump rod couplings are so weak that they split at once at the rivets causing more trouble. In this connection, attention is directed to the improved coupling illustrated in Fig. 4.

The coupling members 2 and 3 are screwed together. Each member has a cut out portion 18 at diametrically opposite sides leaving a connecting web 19. The smooth .end of the wooden pump rod section is driven into the socket of the coupling member with great force. When the pump rod has been cylinder,

.carried by the plunger in the water for some time, the wood in the cut outpo-rtions l8 swells and bulges out as shown in the drawings, making a connection between the wooden pump rod section and coupling member that is. almost impossible to pull apart. In withdrawing the plunger from the casing, should the leather 1O stick, there will be no danger of the coupling breaking no matter how hard the operator may pull on the pump rod.

While the constructionand arrangement of the mechanism herein described is that of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

1. Means preventing the gravitating of sand on the plunger of a pump on the cessation of the fluid flow; comprising a sectional pump rod filling the major portion of the bore of the tube in which .it operates, and coupling means for said sectional ro'd still further reducing the space between the rod and tube, at the same time providing a plurality of resting places for the sand along the rod at intervals in said tube.

2. The combination, of a well pump rod filling the major portion of bore of the casing to form a restricted passage in the casing, a plunger carried by the rod and operative in the bottom of the easing, and instrumentalities embodied in the ump rod for preventing the gravitation of sand to the plunger on the cessation of the casing, a

ing ledge forming devices including rod coupling means with adjacent annular concavities embodied in the pump rod, further restricting the aforesaid passage in the easing at a plurality of stages along the pump rod, to provide annular rests for the sand.

3. In a device as described, a well casing, a cylinder in the well casing, a pump rod filling the inaj or portion of the bore of the well casing and constituting a water displacement rod, a plunger operating in the a connecting member between the plunger and said rod, having a plurality of orifices arranged to direct a water spray over the adjacent portion of the plunger to dislodge sand, and'means arranged at intervals throughout the length of the pump rod for supporting grains of sand when the operation of the pump rod ceases, including 0011- pling members having a ledge and an adj acent annular concavity in the plunger rod.

4. In a device as described, a cylinder, a plunger operating in the cylinder including a hollow body, a check valve in, the body, a' spray tube screwed into the body and having an annular series of orifices, a cup leather and mounted on the spray tube, and threaded washers on the spray tube above and below the said leather,

the 1 fluid flow when the pump rod stops, comprlsand disposed with respect to said orifices to permit the dislodgment of sand from the plunger by lateral streams of water from the orifices.

5. In a device as described, a pump rod including a pair of sections having an annularconcavity, and coupling members arranged to be driven over the cylindrical ends, each coupling member having cut out portions permitting the swelling of the pump rod thereinto, said annular concavity and the adjacent edge of the couplin section providing means for supporting grams of sand.

MILTON N. LATTA. 

